Classic Still Life photography with Natural Light

From art history books we learn that great artists would often paint the same still life subject over and over for years or even all their lives.  It is very hard to truly understand the reason why artists would be so fascinated with a few fruits in a basket, unless you experience it yourself.  The very first time I set up for a still life shoot I was blown away by the complexity of organic forms. Still life requires you to truly study your subject and every detail surrounding it.   When you observe your still life, you have to completely disconnect your mind from the outer world and engage your psyche in a purely visual meditative state. Seeing how the light falls on various objects and how the composition morphs to fill the frame to create a visually pleasant image, brings an astonishing magnitude of awareness of various photography concepts, such are lighting, exposure, camera angles, composition, etc.

In our tutorial video we show you how to use a natural window light and foam board reflector to create simple, yet beautiful light. From the start it is best to keep your variables to a minimum and concentrate on your still life.

Shoot breakdown:

1. Find a good window in the house (if you have more than one). You want to avoid hard and direct sunlight. The best light to work with is from the windows facing North.  West facing windows are pleasant to work with in the first half of the day, while East facing windows are great in the second half.  On an overcast day any window will work. 

Note: This works the same in both northern and southern hemisphere!

If you struggle with direct sunlight coming from the window: a diffusion material could be placed over the window to soften the light.  For diffusion use- Vellum Drafting tissue, Professional diffusion, silk or sheers also could be used.

2. Select you subject. Find interesting objects organic or not.
3. Find good surface: bench, table, paper, canvas, cloth, bricks, wood, anything
4. Select background behind your subject. If the background is too busy  hang a bed sheet or a curtain or use some ply wood (can be natural, stained or painted)
5. Watch the video above for camera settings and light modifications.
6. Enjoy your experience.
7. Share your image with us when you done.

Equipment used in this tutorial video : DSLR Camera, 17-85 lens, white foam board for reflector, tripod.

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